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Jaymie and Jaedo Ryu have been in the restaurant business for a long time: Jaymie’s family had a restaurant in Hawaii, and Jaedo’s ran one in Korea. So when they identified a vacant niche in the Denver dining scene, they decided to fill it with Bop & Gogi, a fast-casual Korean restaurant that opened in fall 2012 in Centennial. Their spot – which they hope to grow into a chain – is modeled after similar concepts that specialize in Chinese and Mexican fare. But this approach to Korean food is definitely new, and you may need some help deciphering the menu and deciding what to order. The Korean pancake is a definite, as is the kimchi, whether you order the spicy radish version or ones with cabbage or cucumber. Another standout: beef galbi, bone-in sections of short ribs in a thick sauce of soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil. And the bibimbop lives up to its name (bibim means “mixed” and bop means “rice”): The rice-filled bowl holds such crowd-pleasers as lettuce, carrots and bean sprouts, plus a side of gochujang (hot-pepper sauce), and is topped with a fried egg and bulgogi, a classic Korean dish of shaved, marinated meat that can be ordered as a stand-alone entree.

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